French Towns Imposing Tourist Passes and Quotas in a Bid to Tackle Overtourism
So is the case with France and the so-called “group tourism” that has been very frequent across the streets of the country, especially in Paris, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.
This situation has caused Marseille, the oldest city in France, to introduce a tourist quota and reservation system to visit popular sites. Only 500 people will be given permission to visit the site, where usually 3,000 tourists arrive there each day.
“Since its resounding success during the summer of 2020, the Calanques have been the victim of overcrowding in July and August. This damages the flora and fauna that are nevertheless protected in the park. To fight against this phenomenon, the PNN is launching an unprecedented action for a natural space: a system of daily reservations,” the tourist office in the city explains.
Region Sud, on the other hand, has created an application to control over-tourism during peak tourist season. In addition, Corsica has also introduced a limit on the number of tourists and also created the method of daily quotas in order to protect the environment in the region. For example, in order to visit Lavezzi Islands, Restonica Valley and Bavella Needles in Corsica, tourists are required to make a reservation beforehand.
The situation remains concerning for Paris, as the Eiffel Tower attracts about six million visitors per year, with visitors being stable on this site for the past ten years. Nearly 300,000 tourists a day visit Paris, against the 2.5 million people who live through the city daily.
Furthermore, Parisians expressed their annoyance with group tourism, where herds of visitors are found in the streets of the capital, sometimes being noisy, while locals try to go on with their everyday lives.
The double-decker tourist buses are also a concern for Paris, as they create traffic and make it tough to open bike lanes and widen sidewalks for some sports.
